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Writing

A Slight Change of Plans Cover Reveal

I’m so excited to share with you A Slight Change of Plans Cover Reveal on my blog. Book two in the Best-laid Plans Series is Jenny and Ren’s story. Jenny is one of the schoolteachers that came west to teach. It is scheduled for release Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Stay tuned for pre-order information, as well as new blog posts related to behind the scene research.

cover reveal for a slight change of plans, a historical christian romance novel Book 2 in Best-laid Plans series by Denise M. Colby with train station, train, schoolmarm with suitcase on cover shown on books page
Cover Reveal for A Slight Change of Plans

A Slight Change of Plans

She believes she doesn’t matter. 

Jenny Millard’s hopes for security and stability as a schoolmarm out west are dashed when her schoolhouse closes and no positions are available nearby. With only enough money for a one-way train fare, Jenny heads to her friend’s home uncertain of her next step.

His scars have made him an unlovable outcast

Newcomer Ren Lyman prefers to keep to himself, hiding in the back of the blacksmith shop to avoid the stares at the scars left by a childhood accident. When he comes across a lost stranger, he’s surprised when she doesn’t recoil at his appearance, and even more so at his eagerness to assist her. 

As Jenny settles into the welcoming, but small, town of Washton, she can’t help but come across Ren, especially since his daily constitutional takes him along the same path. It doesn’t take long for them to form a connection that breaks down the walls erected by years of hurt. But when strange occurrences unsettle the townspeople, it seems their chance at happiness might be at risk. 

Will Jenny and Ren discover that they’re enough—for God, and each other?

A Slight Change of Plans is being published by Scrivenings Press. Each story in the Best-laid Plans series is a standalone book. Book one, When Plans Go Awry, is currently available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Personal

The February I Was Not Looking For Love

February is all about love and romance. But back in 1992, I had just gotten out of a relationship and I wanted space to find myself again. Let’s just say I wasn’t looking for love in February that year.

Blog banner graphic with words Not Looking for .... Love by Denise M. Colby

My friends from work asked if I wanted to go to Disneyland for the evening. I was excited to be out with a large group of friends so I could ignore all my problems and forget about the guy who wasn’t right for me. I definitely wasn’t looking for love.

But I knew as soon as this cute guy walked up to our group that I wanted to get to know him more. I always carried my little camera with me (way before cell phones) and heartily suggested we should take a group picture before we went inside. He immediately came and sat down next to me on the bench. (and I do have a picture, somewhere)

My curiousness grew. 

We sat next to each other on rides and talked a lot. Did I mention there were seventeen in our group that night? Yet we kept seeking each other out. Sat next to each other on all the rides. It was a fun night. Except at the end. With both our insecurities rising we each went are separate ways that night and didn’t see each other again for over a month. Didn’t go on our first date until a month after that.

In hindsight, I’d say it was well worth the wait.

disneyland Autopia car disneyland photo with friends the night author Denise Colby met her husband.
I was not the one who hit my future husband! 
But I was sitting in the middle. 
I fell in love with both him and his sense of humor that night.

Who knew I was going to meet my future husband that night. And that we would be celebrating this month, the date we met, 33 years later (and celebrating our 30-year wedding anniversary in April). The old adage ‘love will find you when you are least looking for it’ comes to mind. I definitely was not looking for love.

We still go to Disneyland, sometimes with a group and sometimes by ourselves, and we still sit next to each other as we ride all the rides.

Author Denise Colby with her husband at Disneyland in 2025

Maybe February is truly the month of love after all!

a similar post was first written in 2020 on A Slice of Orange writers blog

Word of the Year

Adding a Little Flourish to the Year 2025

2025’s word has some flair and flourish in it compared to the last three years’ words. I hope to thrive and bloom in areas I’ve been working and growing in. Be a little more in all I do. Add some accents. Be vibrant.

My word?

Denise M. Colby chose Flourish for her 2025 word of the year. this design is purple and pink with accents and the word flourish in cursive font

F L O U R I S H

How did I pick the word flourish?

I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of choosing a new word every year. 

A word sticks in my head. I try other words but they don’t quite match up. 

Then I go looking at scripture with the word in it, look up definitions of the word, and then quotes. These help confirm it’s where I am in my life.

In December, flourish popped up in my head and never left. 

It’s a fitting word after the last three years of very short and to the point words (work, change, and grow). The idea of adding more flair and fun into my focus is a welcome addition.

I’ve learned a lot over the last few years, worked hard, made different choices for my health and in my writing, and now it’s time to build on all of that. Expand what I’ve already started. Build upon the places I’ve worked, changed, and grown in. And thrive while doing it.

Did you know God wants us to flourish.

Spiritual flourishing involves regular prayer, studying the Bible, trusting in God’s promises and living out our faith in daily actions. 

That’s one of the beautiful things about this word. He wants us to flourish in our relationship with Him, in our work, and in our relationships with others. Basically every aspect of our lives. I want this too.

So what does it mean to flourish?

Definition: a condition or period of thriving.

Synonyms: bloom, thrive, blossom, brandish, wave, grow.

Flourishing in the Bible is thriving spiritually, emotionally, and physically while being grounded in a deep, personal relationship with God.

“In his days may the righteous flourish and peace abound, till the moon is no more.” Psalm 72:7

Some key quotes I found for my 2025 word

When we tend to the areas of life that are important to us, when we make those things a priority, that’s when we will flourish in those areas. Victoria Osteen

There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish. Warren Bennis

To have produced a product where I had total creative control and see it flourish is like watching a baby grow. Karrueche Tran

And I get to create some fun graphics like these – notice the flair:

flourish accents with a light purple background by Denise Colby

And use curlycues in the fonts I choose like these:

The word flourish spelled out in different types of creative fonts on a purple background

Isn’t this fun! Taking a little time to create always fills my soul. I hope to do more of that this year. Adding flourish and flair to the mix.

And that’s not all.

The neat thing is that it’s not all about me. I can help others flourish this year too, by encouraging, serving, praying, and sharing God’s love.

And that is my prayer for you. May you be encouraged by my words and my writing. May you know that God loves you and wants the best for you. I do too.

I’m really looking forward to this year of flourishing.

Denise

Follow me on instagram to see posts about my word all year long. Or check out my word page section for other words I’ve focused on.

Word of the Year

2024 Was My Year to Grow

The transition from 2024 to 2025 flew by and my plans to review my 2024 word and introduce my 2025 word before 2024 ended did not happen. Yet, I still want to have a formal goodbye to my 2024 word. Even though I didn’t post a lot about my word this year, I definitely experienced the word throughout the year. That’s why 2024 was my year to grow.

Denise M. Colby's focus word of the year for 2024 is GROW

I haven’t posted a lot of graphics for my word this year, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t applied my word to my life. Growth takes many forms. In ourselves, in others, in life around us. From my health, my walk with Jesus, my writing, my work, and my family, I have experienced growing in some capacity.

Every year, I try to write in a journal once a month about my word. I use Bible verses and quotes as a starting point to dig deeper into my word. I wanted to share themes that sprouted from the word grow this year

The word GROW can be synonymous with plants

When I typed in the word grow, several graphics and quotes had plants in them. What’s interesting is that in order for a plant to grow, you need patience, time, & continuous love and care. This is exactly what we as people need.

We don’t grow without being watered. We need feul and we need rest. If we want to grow as people, we need to think of ourselves as plants and take care of ourselves.

sticker designed with a plant and word grow by denise m. colby
I designed a sticker with my 2024 word this year

I love this Bible verse:

Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge.

Hosea 10:12

GROW is about New Experiences

I saw a quote from Derek Hough (who is one of my favorite dancer/choreographers) on a recent post and he said:

Growth begins where awareness leads the way.

Derek Hough

My debut novel released into the world on June 4, 2024. To say this was a growing experience would be absolutely correct. In so many ways. From the cover design, to the final edits, every step I learned something. 

And all these new to me experiences in 2024 is exactly why this was the perfect word for me. 

enjoy the journey grow graphic for denise M. colby word of year grow page

These included:

  • Working with a publisher
  • Cover design
  • Final edits
  • Galley edits
  • Cover reveal
  • Launch team
  • Release day
  • Blog tour
  • Writing a second book
  • And many small things that still count in the grow department

Taking chances, and making changes help you GROW

As writers we have a lot of decisions to make for our story worlds. What names to use, what ages, hair color, and so much more. Sometimes I need to try something to move forward. And then change it because I found something better. But if I didn’t try something first, I wouldn’t know that. The fear of getting things wrong, can be a big deterrant. I’ve had to work through this fear. As a reader, I don’t think you want every book to be exactly the same, which is why I’m trying different plot points in my future stories.

The same could be said for any job or task we are working on. This isn’t just about being a writer. I’m just using that as a jumping off point to explain what I’ve learned this year.

There is so much more the word GROW

I love to look at synonyms, and the synonyms for GROW include evolve, develop, and produce.

This is what we do in our stories. They evolve, we develop them, and produce them. Because I’ve now published a book, I now know what’s expected after you write ‘the end’. I’ve learned how to edit more with my original writing and I know how I want a story to be. When I first started, I didn’t know any of these things. 

I also am learning how to think like a published author. I finally get to have an Amazon Author account and a BookBub account. Those are big things for me.

What might some big things be for you in your life? Where have you evolved or developed something new and different?

GROW in My Personal Life

In one of the quotes I came across, it opened my eyes to something. I think in some ways the word grow wasn’t just about myself, but also how I could help others around me grow as well. I love to write encouraging words. To inspire others. I hope my stories do that.

But on a closer note, I hope that I can be an encourager to my family and my friends.

My first child (the middle one) married the love of his life in June. I now have a daughter. And I love watching both of them grow into a new married couple and our family grow from five to six people.

bride and groom smiling and laughing at their wedding ceremony
I love the joy on their faces after they were announced husband and wife
family picture at our son's wedding showing how our family grew
Our family grew this year – from 5 to 6 and we gained a daughter!

This has been such a blessing to experience in 2024.

If you want to see more grow graphics and quotes, I created a word page for the word grow on my website (as well as other words I’ve chosen for a word of the year). I also write for a writers blog and my January 2024 was all about my 2024 word when the year first started. I’m thankful to have had a chance to experience so much growth this year, and will always look fondly at 2024 as a year to grow.

History

Historical Teacher Rules And Regulations From the 1860’s

Have you ever seen old historical teacher rules from the 1860’s? As a historical fiction writer, I love learning about these things. Oh to be a teacher back then!

Of course there weren’t options for women who needed to support themselves or wanted to do something outside of the home. So landing a teaching job was a really big deal. And there was a set of rules they needed to follow. From how they managed themselves, to how they managed their classroom.

This is actually how my writing journey began – when I first learned about these “teacher rules” .

Learning about these historical teacher rules

I was visiting Sacramento, our state capital, with my son’s fourth grade class and they spent part of the day at the one room schoolhouse there. The docent performed a school session for the kids to show them what it was like. I found all of it fascinating.

But this post is about the historical rules teachers had during this time.

These rules had to be followed in order to keep their job. Since much of it was tied to not marrying or even courting (for the women), and I loved to read romance, I wondered what that must’ve been like, and my heroine, Olivia, started to appear in my mind.

List of teacher rules from 1872. Found on internet in multiple places. Author unknown.
Historical teacher rules from 1915 produced by the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse museum

During my research for When Plans Go Awry, I found that women teachers had different rules than their male counterparts. I also learned that women were not allowed to go inside an ice cream parlor.

What?

Since ice cream is my favorite dessert, I had to investigate. And add this one into my story, even though I found it in the 1915 sheet (but ice cream did exist in 1869).

And in case you don’t believe me, here’s a website I found from Williamson County Illinois Historical Society that states the teacher rules as well. Which means these rules were throughout all the states, not just in one region or area.

Historical Punishment List

There also were a list of punishments the teacher had to adhere to. I purchased this sheet from the Old Sacramento Museum because it captured my attention that much. And I incorporated a few of them into my story as well.

List of punishment rules for teachers from the 1848. This sheet was purchased by Denise M. Colby on a trip to the Old Sacramento Museum

The discipline was strict. Take a look at how many lashings a student would receive based on each infraction. To make a swing and then swing on them was a big one with seven lashings, where fighting at school was only 5. Girls and boys were not allowed to play together and had separate play places. Playing cards was the worst, as well as misbehaving to girls.

How did teachers in the 1860s do this? 

It was the times. Which is why historical fiction is so popular. We are transported to a different time, different world, with different rules. In the case of this blog post I can drill down even further, and say different teacher rules.

And so an idea for a story started to brew. What would’ve it been like to live with these rules? And so many of these examples found their way into my debut novel When Plans Go Awry to help give a flavor as to how it was to be a teacher during this part of our history. 

Let me know if you find it interesting as well, or if there are rules you’ve heard of that I haven’t mentioned.

I wrote a blog post about the one-room schoolhouse we visited if you’d like to read more about that.

Blog Title It's the One-room Schoolhouse's Fault with pick of prairie flowers and a one-room schoolhouse by Denise M. Colby includes historical teacher rules
Writing

My First Book Release Day with When Plans Go Awry

It’s my very first book release day and there are so many exciting things happening. I’m finding myself wanting to use all the terms for today. Happy Book Launch, Happy Release Day, and Happy Book Birthday. So When Plans Go Awry, I wish you all of these!

Happy Release Day for When Plans Go Awry blog banner

And I ask all of you to come celebrate with me as my debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, releases out into the world. When Plans Go Awry is now available at Amazon in paperback, eBook, and on Kindle Unlimited. The paperback is also available on Barnes and Noble’s website.

I have had such great response to the cover and the story, from early readers. Much to be thankful for! I hope you will enjoy the story as well.

Historical Romance Book Cover pre-order link with words When Plans Go Awry by Denise M. Colby which is a historical christian romance novel

Other Book Release Excitement

I’ve been busy creating author and book accounts at AmazonFictionfinderGoodReads, and BookBub, so if you are on any of these, please follow me! And if you haven’t yet signed up for my newsletter, please do so to stay informed of future book events and books.

Also, I wanted to share I have a new logo!

Red one room schoolhouse with text underneath Denise M. Colby Historical Romance Author

And a variation with my tagline

Denise M. Colby Historical Romance sweetened with faith, hope, & love logo

Links to other activities this week

What fun I’ve had leading up to this day. From my first author blog interview, to my first author podcast interview, to the book blog tour my book is taking this week.

Click on the graphic below to check out the book blog tour. Every day there are several book bloggers posting on their book blog. The complete list is listed here on the Silver Dagger Book Tour page.

When Plans Go Awry Book Launch Blog Tour graphic to celebrate New Book Release

I’m just so grateful Luke and Olivia’s story can be read and enjoyed by everyone. Thank you so much for your support. And if you feel led to leave a review after reading it, that would be so appreciated. Leaving reviews is one of the most helpful things you can do for authors.

Stay tuned for more book launch news as the fun continues.

Blessings,

Denise

Writing

My Very First Book Cover

Since my last post, I now have my very first book cover design completed, and I’ve created a book page on my website. This year everything is moving fast. And I’m loving every minute of it!

I was able to give a sneak peek to my newsletter subscribers before posting about it on Facebook and Instagram. But I also wanted to talk about my very first book cover here on my blog. It’s such a big moment for me, after years of wondering what my book cover would look like.

And now, here it is!

Historical Romance Book Cover with land, one-room schoolhouse, schoolmarm on cover with words When Plans Go Awry by Denise M. Colby which is a historical christian romance novel

There’s a one-room schoolhouse.

A river.

And Olivia, holding her journal.

My very first book cover!

I only get one time to say that it’s my first book cover, so it’s fun for me to state it. As I said earlier, I’m enjoying every minute of this new chapter in my writing journey.

It’s amazing how quickly this book cover came together. The overall design was complete within three to four days. Way shorter than what it took to write the story. I may never look at covers the same now that I understand how they are put together. Now the next part is the back and inside. I can’t wait to see everything in print.

My publisher, Scrivenings Press, has created a book page for When Plans go Awry. And just this week I was able to create a GoodReads book page as well, where you can add it to your ‘want to read’ list. And again I have my own dedicated book page on my website.

All of these pages are showing off my very first book cover. As well as a short description of the story. It feels very surreal!

Book Launch News

So as you can see, I have many exciting things to share here, and many more to come. If you are interested in joining my launch team, go to my launch team interest form sign-up. You will get to read the book before it launches, have a chance to win prizes, and help me launch When Plans Go Awry.

I would love it if you would join me. And I can’t wait for you to read all about Olivia, Luke, the town of Washton, and its wily rooster, Bert.

Writing

My First Book Contract

I have good news to share. I signed my first book contract in 2023 and the first story in my Best-laid Plans series will publish in June, 2024.

How did this book contract come about, you ask?

I’m excited to share I won the grand prize in the Scrivenings Press #GetPubbed writing contest. My novel, When Plans Go Awry, won first place in the Historical Romance category, and then went on to win the grand prize. The grand prize includes a book contract. My novel is scheduled to be launched into the world on June 4, 2024.

Denise M. Colby won the grand prize in the Scrivenings Press #GetPubbed 2023 contest for When Plans Go Awry, which includes a book contract
The contest results were announced on November 16. I think I will always remember this day. A pivotal turning point in my writing story. Where I went from aspiring to contracted.

What’s amazing is looking back over the past thirteen (yes, 13!) years of working on my stories, making friends, learning, and growing as both a person and as a writer. I’m so thankful for the journey.

The path has been a lot of winding cross-backed, up and down, narrow and wide dirt trails, with a few paved and flat sections along the way. Then, on November 16, these contest results were announced, and everything has changed — and I’m on a new path now!

Scrivenings Press welcomes Denise M. Colby to the family of authors with her first book contract for her grand prize entry When Plans Go Awry which will publish in June 2024

The word CHANGE was the perfect word for me in 2023. 

From a writing perspective I chose this word because I wanted to change how I approached my writing. To not be afraid to change my opening or what my characters said. I wanted to be able to try new phrasing and change my manuscript for the better. I wanted to embrace change in different ways including pitching and trying new contests.

And because of that, I can now add additional changes that have happened this year! 

  1. I finaled in a contest and got to submit my entire manuscript 
  2. That entire manuscript won 1st place in a contest
  3. And then won the grand prize in that contest
  4. That grand prize included my first book contract
  5. My first book contract is now a 3-book series titled Best-laid Plans
  6. And my first book, When Plans Go Awry, will be published June 4, 2024

Very Big Changes in My Personal Life, Too

Change has been up front and center in my personal life this year as well. With one college graduation and our youngest’s high school graduation, we are moving on from being booster presidents and weekly performances or activities to attend. Our middle son asked his sweetheart to marry him, and we are experiencing new things with being parents of the groom. We’ve been blessed with new responsiblities in our day jobs, and been able to travel quite a bit this year.

I’m so excited for June 2024. We will celebrate a book launch and a new marriage.

Celebrate my book contract with me!

To follow my publishing journey in 2024, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on my facebook or instagram pages. I will be building a street team to help with the book launch, so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

As the year 2023 ends, all of these things are the best changes possible. And I’m so excited for 2024 and what is to come. I also can’t wait to share my 2024 focus word with you. That will be in my next post!

Denise M. Colby loves to write words to encourage, enrich, and engage with others. You can find similar encouraging posts on A Slice of Orange such as meeting writing goals or when your confidence wavers, and on her own website Moments of Encouragement. She also loves to write about her word of the year and share quotes that include that specific word in them. Each word builds a new layer in her writing journey (and her life). In 2022, her word was Work. 2023 year, her word was change.

History

Meet My Rooster Character I Named Bert

I have found myself quite partial to roosters ever since I added a colorful rooster character to my story. I named him Bert (for many reasons), and his main role is that of Schoolhouse Protector. More specifically, defender of schoolteachers who teach in the schoolhouse. 

Character drawing of a my rooster character named Bert, illustrated by Kyle Colby
My Rooster Character’s name is Bert.
My son Kyle brings him to life in this
first ever shown depiction!

After researching the creatures I had learned I could have quite a bit of fun with him. Did you know that roosters make a bunch of different sounds? I thought they only crowed. But as I researched further, I learned roosters are very protective of those in their care and they have different noises they make to call out warnings or to get someone’s attention.

Why A Rooster Character?

I wanted an animal in my Going West story, but I wanted to do something other than a dog. Since my story includes ranches and the west in 1869, I googled different types of animals including roosters. One of the most interesting thing about a rooster is that they crow all throughout the day, not just the morning. I liked that. I could have a rooster tell time both before school and after. 

As I researched roosters, I came across Chinese Astrology and the meaning behind the rooster. Then I came across an article with how the rooster has been used as a symbol in Christianity. From Peter’s denial and ultimate remorse and repentance, to the crowing at dawn representing the light over darkness, to the emblem on weathervanes respresenting a Christian’s attitude of watchfulness and readiness for the sudden return of Christ. All of it intrigued me, and since I’m writing Historical Inspirational, helped solidify my choosing the rooster as my animal character.

Digging into a Rooster’s Personality

Once I decided on the rooster, I wanted to understand it’s sounds. I learned there are several breeds of roosters and they all have different noises and personalities. They love to be the center of attention. I found a fun blog from someone who writes about her roosters and their shenanigans. The fun and differing personalities she covered, provided ideas of what I could create and inspired a rooster character I couldn’t wait to expand on.

It was also helpful to pay attention to some other famous rooster characters and how unique, memorable and fun they are.

a compilation image of 4 rooster characters from Moana (hey hey), Robin Hood (Alan-A-Dale), Looney Tunes (Foghorn), & Three Caballeros (Panchito Pistoles)
Other famous rooster characters include Hey Hey from Moana, Looney Tunes Foghorn Leghorn, Alan-A-Dale from Disney’s Robin Hood, and Panchito Pistoles from Disney’s The Three Caballeros.

Wouldn’t it be fun if my Bert became as famous as these colorful roosters?

Character Names Mean Something

I wanted to name my rooster something meaningful. As I was flushing out his character, I wanted to honor my mom, who liked roosters. And I wanted a short name. Something easy for the kids and townfolk to call him. My mom’s name is Beverly (she went by Bev), so I wanted a name that started with a B. One of my all-time favorite movie characters is Bert, from Mary Poppins. After writing out a bunch of alternates, I kept coming back to this one. And so I named my rooster character Bert.

Writing an Animal Character

I’ve had a lot of fun writing Bert and can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s spunky, colorful, loyal, caring, observant and very smart. And he stands by my heroine’s side whether she wants him to or not.

Since writing him, I now notice roosters everywhere, and it immediately brings to mind, Bert. Last year at the Knott’s Berry Farm Berry Festival, there were roosters sitting amongst flowers in key spots. I found myself on a rooster hunt, since every single one was a different style and color palette. I’ve been saving these pictures till I wrote a blog post about it. And look forward to sharing more about roosters and Bert in the future.

Word A Year

When Life Gets Busy, Blog Posts Fall Behind

Life has been busy and I’ve fallen behind on my blog posts. Hard to believe, it’s been six months since I’ve posted a post here on my website. But just because I didn’t post, didn’t mean I didn’t have things I wanted to share. Quite the opposite. There’s been a lot of life happening, that I just haven’t been able to keep up!

blog post header graphic with distressed wood in the background and words When Life Gets Busy, Blog Posts Fall Behind in bold font

So where do I start? What’s most important?

First. I just want to say hello. It’s been a while. And I’ve missed writing my blog. 

Second, with so many topics to cover, I thought I would start with my word of the year. That one word is what is helping me spend time where I need to spend my time.

My Focus word has stayed true even when life got busy

laptop, notepad, glasses, pencil case, planner with word work. Life gets busy so you have to work at managing your time

Work is my word this year. I talked about that in my last blog post Wisdom of Selecting a Focus Word Every Year and the progression from the word WISDOM in 2021 to WORK for 2022.

It’s not a glamorous word. But I’ve found it to be a helpful word. And I need lots of help if I’m ever going to publish my book!

Take a look at my instagram account. Whenever I find references to my word of the year, I post about it. I have a story higlight for the word WORK. One for WISDOM too, if that interests you. I find it fun to capture and organize these words.

And periodically I like to blog about my word too.

Which is what I’m doing here. For example, as a noun, work is defined as: exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something. I’m definitely making an effort on producing a final manuscript that can be published. I also want to be an encourager with my words.

And so in the act of encourager, here are some phrases that use my 2022 focus word. I hope that they will encourage you for whatever you want to work on this year.

Dreams don’t work, unless you do.

My manuscript is a work in progress

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart

Colossions 3:24-25

Which is exactly what I’ve been doing in 2022. I process my thoughts by writing. I explore what’s in my brain by writing. And I’ve missed writing blog posts and I’m ready to jump back in to posting again.

What I found myself not doing at the end of 2021 was writing. But I’ve found it takes work to write. It takes work to find the time to write. Which is why I love this word so much. It helps me focus. And as I go through another round of edits on my manuscript, I’ve been working little by little to keep working toward my goal of someday sharing my book with you.

But wait! There’s more to how my life has been busy.

My third point is this. There’s been a lot of life that’s happened to me over the last few months. Some of which has been amazing fun and I will cover in future posts, and some of it, not so much. Life can be challenging at times and you have to work through things one day at a time. (See how I threw in my focus word?) The not so fun parts for me have included health issues and a car accident that’s taken me a while to bounce back from. And so, I’ve had to limit what I worked on.

And my blog was one of those areas I had to let go for a while.

But I’ve really missed having a place to share. A place to encourage. And a place just to write what God puts on my heart.

I’m happy to be back. Thank you for joining me. We are all in this journey together. Wishing you all the best this month.